Prediction: Germany vs Italy

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 14/5

Bookmaker: Betfair

Germany are set to welcome Italy to Borussia Monchengladbach’s Borussia-Park in another clash of big European teams of the ongoing edition of the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday evening. The match will be a part of round four in League A Group 3.

Germany

It’s now been eight years since Germany won a major tournament, the last being the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They’ve had some disappointing campaigns since, and they’re obviously looking to get back on the right track after leaving the Euros last year in the round of 16 as they suffered defeat at the hands of England.

The Germans didn’t have too many problems in the World Cup qualifications process. They did lose quite unexpectedly to North Macedonia, at home, but they won the remaining nine fixtures to secure a comfortable top-of-the-table finish.

On the other hand, all three Nations League matches they’ve played so far ended with the same scoreline, 1-1. They first drew away to Italy, then at home against England, and eventually away to Hungary a couple of days ago as Jonas Hofmann cancelled out Zsolt Nagy’s opener for the hosts, all within the opening 10 minutes of the match. Interestingly enough, these three points are enough to see Hansi Flick’s team sit above England (2), but Italy (5) and Hungary (4) are ahead.

Team News

Flick may be troubled by the obvious lack of goals from Chelsea duo of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner at this point, and that may open the door for their Bayern counterparts, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane. Youngsters Karim Adeyemi and Lukas Nmecha are likely to stay on the bench either way, waiting patiently for their chance to make a difference.

Regardless of the disappointing results so far, Hofmann is sure to remain in the starting XI on the right flank, having scored against both England and Hungary.

Italy

It was a terrible shock for reigning European champions Italy when the World Cup qualifications ended with the door to Qatar closed for them. On top of that, they were utterly beaten by South American champions Argentina in the UEFA-CONMEBOL Cup of Champions on June 1st.

Coach Roberto Mancini has conducted several difficult but much needed changes, replacing some of the veteran heroes of the recent past with some younger names.

Just three days after the Argentina fiasco, Italy drew 1-1 at home against Germany. Then they beat Hungary by 2-1 as Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini struck in the first half to render Gianluca Mancini’s second-half own-goal relatively insignificant. On Saturday, they played a goalless draw in a repeat of last year’s Euro final against England, this time played at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux. The Azzurri were second-best in most areas of that contest, but they obviously managed to do enough to avoid defeat.

Team News

Two Sassuolo players, midfielder Davide Fratessi and striker Gianluca Scamacca, have shown Mancini that they have the quality necessary to represent their country on a regular basis, and they’re likely to start in Monchengladbach on Tuesday. Manuel Locatelli is set to anchor the midfield again, but Barella will be hoping for a start as well, as will Alessandro Florenzi on the left defensive flank.

Conclusion

Both these teams mostly rely on patience to try and get the result they need, and just like it happened in Italy, a low-scoring draw feels the likeliest outcome between them.

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 14/5

Bookmaker: Betfair